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Osho Dynamic Meditation – Fourth Stage: STOP

The fourth stage of the Osho Dynamic Meditation is an unexpected STOP in the middle of the vigorous jumping. All of a sudden, you have to freeze completely, as if you are dead. You become like a statue, still, immobile, not allowing any movement or noise, everything has to stop. At the peak of activity, the sudden shift to the opposite side: absolute inactivity.

Dynamic Meditation has been carefully designed as a precise sequence of stages: each step leads to the next, each following automatically from the preceding stage. It is a progression of events with a clear purpose: to lead you naturally into meditation. Meditation is silence of the mind and the fourth stage of Dynamic Meditation, is your best chance to experience just that.

Transformation through extremes

Osho says that transformation is only possible when the extreme point is reached. If a phenomenon reaches its extremity, change happens on its own accord. The basic approach of Dynamic Meditation is to push the pendulum to one extreme, so that when it reaches its utmost tension, it automatically moves in the opposite direction. Relaxation follows tension, so in order to relax you will be led to maximum tension. The more intense you are in the first three stages, the deeper you can relax into total silence during the fourth stage.

The first three stages of Dynamic Meditation are propaedeutic to the meditative silence of the fourth stage. Meditation cannot be forced, rather it happens by itself; it can be provoked but not imposed. So all the intense activity of the previous three stages, is like preparing the ground for meditation to happen. It is watering the roots to enable flowers to blossom.

Let the energy work inside

Neurogenesis is a fairly recent discovery. Neuroscientists say that the brain can generate new neurons at any point in time, not just during childhood. This means the brain has the capacity to build new neural pathways, reflecting in new thinking processes, enhanced creativity, emotional equilibrium and inner peace. Everyone can achieve this state, with just some practice.

During the STOP of the fourth stage, all the new fresh energy that has been activated through breathing and jumping will start moving inside. Energy cannot be still; its very nature is dynamic. The “frozen statue” immobility prevents the energy to be dispersed via the usual outlets (body movements, talking, looking, sensory stimulation, etc.). The result is the creation of something new. The energy will find new pathways. It is a natural, creative process, you just need to cooperate with complete body stillness. New doors of experience open up. During this stage a new wave of energy will permeate every fibre, every cell, every pore of your being.

Silent gap

The STOP is a way of stopping the mind through physiology. It is a simple yet powerful technique which is based on a basic physiological law: the body/mind connection. Just a moment before, you were moving like a cyclone, in mad activity. Suddenly the stop. You can see your body, frozen, as if it is somebody else’s body; you can see the mind, suddenly still, because it has lost its association with the moving body.

By breaking the association between body and mind, a moment of silence is possible. When the body suddenly freezes, the mind gets confused for a split moment. And in that gap, silence can happen. That is the most precious moment of the meditation, an opening in the perennial stream of thoughts which populate the mind at all time. Even one small gap in the mind, is a huge achievement. That split second of silence will be registered in your being, in your cellular memory. And this experience of silence is transformative. Once you have a taste of it, your whole being will seek for it again and again. Meditation has entered your life for ever.

But remember, in order for this to happen there is only one condition: you must stop immediately. Whilst jumping, jump as if there is no tomorrow. And then the stop comes: do not miss the chance, freeze immediately, move to the opposite shore. Let the process do its work. Let meditation happen to you.

“The fourth stage is the moment of non-doing. That is what I call dhyana, meditation. The first three stages are only steps; the fourth stage is the door. Then you are. There is nothing to do, neither breathing nor movement nor sound, just silence. The three previous stages must be “done,” in a sense, but the fourth stage comes of its own accord. Then something happens that is not your doing. It comes as a grace: you have become a vacuum, an emptiness, and something fills you. Something spiritual pours into you when you are not”. – Osho. So if you want to know what meditation is really about, join our next Grounding Camp. We will guide you step by step into this wonderful process. Give yourself a chance, stop the body, stop the mind and experience silence. Join us now!